An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.
Retrial Proceedings
The defendant, forty-four, 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 panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot 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 panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. 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 permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”
Personal History
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.
