France's Appeal Court Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The 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 “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

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

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

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: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.