France's Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.