French Higher Court Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses 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 a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.