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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing 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 shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.