🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.