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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced 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 the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” 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 the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.