French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.