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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.