France's Appeal Tribunal Raises Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.