🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.