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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

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

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed 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 wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.