French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.