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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven 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 transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” 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 brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent 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: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.