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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him 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 living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.