French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. 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 invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.