An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.
Higher Court Case
Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.
The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Pelicot's Words
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.
