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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.