🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault 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 the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.