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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced 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 town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.