🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting 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 marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.