🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained 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 given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.