France's Appeal Court Increases Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Perpetrator

A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed 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 knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

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: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed 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 spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.