France's Appeal Tribunal Raises Sentence for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant
A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.
Retrial Proceedings
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.
“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.
The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Defendant's Statements
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.
