French Appeal Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

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

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.