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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied 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 invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.