French Appeal Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.