French Higher Tribunal Increases Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured 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

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.