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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades 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 the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.