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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood 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 courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.