French Appeal Court Increases Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.