France's Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant
An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period 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, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, sitting with 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 testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.
Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”
The victim, 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.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”
Biographical Details
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.
