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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced 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 Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. 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 house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated 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.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.