France's Appeal Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. 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? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.