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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

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

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.