A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Case History
The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”
The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.
