A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.
We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.
The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. 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 deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”
Victim's Response
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a child 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 union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.
