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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

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

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.