A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Context
The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.
Defendant's Statements
Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”
Survivor's Statement
The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”
The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
