French Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

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 testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.