French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed 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 abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.