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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact 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 rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.