🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her 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 contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of 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 online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

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

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to 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 sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.