A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.
We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”
Case History
The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating 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 nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”
Survivor's Statement
The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”
Biographical Details
The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.
He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.
