French Higher Tribunal Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.