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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

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

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated 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 a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.