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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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 higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, 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 displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.