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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife 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 strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.