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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement 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 want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

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

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.