French Higher Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.