French Appeal Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel 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 Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.