France's Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 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 called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

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

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.