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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence 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 Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced 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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.