French Appeal Court Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

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

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.