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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.