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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought 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 “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. 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 invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.