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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan 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 building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.