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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.