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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.