France's Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with 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 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.