France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating 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 visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.