French Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance 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 ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.