A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.
Appeal Trial
The defendant, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.
“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”
The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
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 concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.
