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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators 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 rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

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

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.