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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.