France's Appeal Tribunal Increases Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction 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 sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.