A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.
We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”
The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.
The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.
Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”
The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.
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