France's Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer 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 institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.