France's Higher Court Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. 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 residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.