French Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.