France's Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.