France's Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge 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 agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on 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 individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.