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

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

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 notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.