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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant 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 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.