French Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.