French Appeal Court Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan 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? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.