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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially 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 court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, 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

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife 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 informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.