France's Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term 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 Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.