French Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.