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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.