French Higher Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.