A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Background
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.
