France's Higher Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told 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 injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.