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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.