A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased 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 accountability”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.
The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.