A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Background
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.
The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.
