French Appeal Tribunal Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel 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 Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. 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 special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.