French Higher Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

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 then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

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 first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate 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 welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties 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 main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed 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 stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.