French Higher Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.