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

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.