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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged 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, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape 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 asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.