French Higher Tribunal Increases Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties 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 primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.