An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”
Survivor's Statement
The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.
