A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to a decade.
Higher Court Case
Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Context
The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”
Pelicot's Words
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon 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 the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”
Personal History
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.
