French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan 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 had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.