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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. 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 recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.