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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.