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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. 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 permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.