French Appeal Court Raises Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape 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 notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.