French Appeal Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. 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 son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.