A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.
Retrial Proceedings
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.
“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”
Case History
The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.
The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.
Testimony and Proof
The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.
The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.
The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. 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 manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”
Pelicot's Words
The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”
The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
State's Argument
Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”
Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”
The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”
Biographical Details
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.
