France's Appeal Court Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

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 court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.