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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence 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 online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture 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: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.