🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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 upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.