French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.