French Higher Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.