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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. 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 influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone 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 spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.