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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years 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 community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation 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 “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.