An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.
Higher Court Case
Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.
A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.
We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”
Context
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 incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.
Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.
The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.
Testimony and Proof
Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.
The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”
The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.
The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.
Dogan's Claims
Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”
Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”
Survivor's Statement
Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”
Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”
Legal Commentary
Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”
Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”
The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”
Defendant's Background
Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.
He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.
