A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.
“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Background
The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”
The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”
Personal History
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced 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 school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.
