A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, 44, 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 five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Context
The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.
The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with special needs, 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 repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
