French Appeal Tribunal Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning 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 titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her 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 not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told 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.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.