French Appeal Court Raises Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said 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 larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’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,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.