French Appeal Court Uphighers Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.