French Higher Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.