A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.
We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault 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 privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.
