A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Background
The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common 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.”
The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.
