France's Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told 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 tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.