French Higher Court Raises Jail Time for Gisèle Pelicot Assailant

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse 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 Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.