France's Appeal Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved 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 consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.