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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, 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 Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought 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 “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.