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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence 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 duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, 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 OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.