🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. 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 influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.