French Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.