🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.