🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.