A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
Case History
The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.
Defendant's Statements
Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”
Victim's Response
Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed 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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.
