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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.