A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Courtroom Details
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.
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 performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Defendant's Statements
Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.
