🔗 Share this article

An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

The defendant, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said 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 unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.