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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.