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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.