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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.