France's Higher Court Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.