France's Appeal Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to 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 permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.