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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.