French Higher Court Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.