A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.
Retrial Proceedings
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Background
The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.
The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”
Pelicot's Words
The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.
