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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured 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 cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.