A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.
“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
Context
The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood 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 consent.”
The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.
The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.
