French Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness 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 rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.