A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.
We expect the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.
