French Higher Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.