French Higher Court Raises Sentence for Gisele Pelicot Assailant

A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals 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 widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware 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 unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.