🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. 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 home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.