France's Appeal Court Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated 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 question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’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 stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie 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: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.