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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. 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 allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived 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 Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.