A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, 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 panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”
Case History
Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.
Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”
The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”
Victim's Response
The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
Legal Commentary
The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”
Personal History
Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.
