A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to a decade.
Higher Court Case
Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.
We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Context
The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence 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 Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.
The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”
Victim's Response
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot 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, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.
