France's Appeal Tribunal Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.