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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.