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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged 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 consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.