French Higher Court Increases Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.