France's Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades 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 span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.