An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
We expect the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”
Background
The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate 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 claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.
