France's Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.