A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Context
The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.
The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied 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 brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”
Pelicot's Words
The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.
