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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. 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 influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

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

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.