A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to 10 years.
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.
We expect the court will affirm 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. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”
The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.
He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.
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