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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon 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 the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.