French Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’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 rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.