🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.