French Higher Court Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist
A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.
Retrial Proceedings
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.
We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Background
The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”
Pelicot's Words
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Personal History
The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed 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 sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.