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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.