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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.