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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence 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 rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.