🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.