An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Case History
The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period 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 appeal against his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.
The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a son 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 repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.
