French Higher Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent 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 Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance 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 unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.