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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.