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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported 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 question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.