A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
Context
The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging 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.
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 sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”
Pelicot's Words
The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.
