France's Higher Court Raises Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.