An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.
Appeal Trial
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.
The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”
Case History
The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.
Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.
Evidence Presented
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”
The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, 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 the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced 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 onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”
The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”
State's Argument
Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”
Sie 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: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a son with special needs, 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 defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.
