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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, 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 the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent 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 community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.