French Appeal Tribunal Uphighers Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded 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 applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.