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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.