🔗 Share this article

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty 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, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told 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 sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.