A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.
Retrial Proceedings
Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Background
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”
The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”
Survivor's Statement
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.
