France's Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial 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 Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.