France's Higher Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

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

Appeal Trial

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, 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 intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.