French Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years 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 Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.