France's Higher Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected 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 residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.