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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.