French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever 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.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse 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. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.