French Higher Court Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to 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 harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.