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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The 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 bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.