A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Case History
The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.
Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half 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 incapacitated and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, 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 deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”
Survivor's Statement
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
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 perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Personal History
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.
