A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.
“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”
Background
The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”
The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”
Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”
Victim's Response
The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”
Personal History
The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the first trial.
