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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, 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 repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.