France's Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued 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

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor 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: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in 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 parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard 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 stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.