🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious 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 transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy 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 refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.