French Appeal Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.