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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

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 spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.