French Appeal Court Increases Prison Term for Gisele Pelicot Rapist

A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

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 panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.