🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, 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 jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.