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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. 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 influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.