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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police 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 undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.