🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.