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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

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

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.