French Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

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

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.