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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.