French Appeal Court Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.