French Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial 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 home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.