French Appeal Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.