🔗 Share this article

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant'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 rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, 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 regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.