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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to 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 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 influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.