An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.
We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”
Background
The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”
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.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with special needs, 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 beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
