France's Appeal Court Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.