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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. 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 allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.