French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated 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 attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.