A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan 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, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Context
The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years 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 verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.
The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy 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 responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from 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 parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.
