A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.
Retrial Proceedings
The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.
“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Background
The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.
The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.
