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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.