French Higher Court Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.