France's Higher Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty 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, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused 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 evidence indicated that his parent was abusive 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 evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.