A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, 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 testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.
We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Context
The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.
Dogan's Claims
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”
Victim's Response
The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
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.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”
Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.
