An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.
We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Survivor's Statement
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
State's Argument
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.
