French Higher Court Uphighers Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.