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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed 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 residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son 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 regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.