France's Higher Court Uphighers Jail Time for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men 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 union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.