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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in 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 union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.