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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished 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 refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. 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 non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.