French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.