French Appeal Tribunal Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.