France's Higher Tribunal Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating 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 presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor 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: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.