An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to ten years.
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 nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”
The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”
Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”
The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the original case.
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