An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.
We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.
