France's Higher Court Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

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

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, 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

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.