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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence 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 community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.