France's Appeal Tribunal Raises Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.