French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, 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 the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.