France's Appeal Court Increases Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Rapist

An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.