A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Background
The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos 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 transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Personal History
Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.
