A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.
Retrial Proceedings
The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.
“We hope the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Background
The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.
The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
