France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official 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 agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.