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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim'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,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.