A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.
We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
Background
The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer 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 strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
