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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

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

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.