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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.