France's Higher Court Uphighers Prison Term for Gisèle Pelicot Perpetrator

An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support 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 unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

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

Biographical Details

Dogan 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 concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations 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 looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.