🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged 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, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement 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 handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.