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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking 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 main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.