French Appeal Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern 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 digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. 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 allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.