France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “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 deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.