An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”
The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.
The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.
Maya is a seasoned travel writer with a passion for uncovering exclusive destinations and sharing practical tips for luxury travelers.
