France's Higher Tribunal Increases Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.