An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Background
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 drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Accused's Testimony
Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Pelicot's Words
The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.
