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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.