A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Courtroom Details
The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.
The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy 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 responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”
Personal History
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.
