France's Appeal Tribunal Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.