A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.
A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.
“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”
Background
The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.
Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Evidence Presented
The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.
Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.
Accused's Testimony
The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied 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 invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Victim's Response
The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
Prosecutor's Remarks
The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”
The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”
Defendant's Background
The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced 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 wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.
