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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received 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 two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant 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 concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son 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 repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.