A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Context
The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Dogan's Claims
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread 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 Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”
Personal History
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.
