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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed 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, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.