French court ups jail term for man in Gisele Pelicot rape case appeal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Husamettin Dogan, 44, was the only one to have maintained his appeal after the first trial in 2024 of 51 men.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
NIMES, France - A French appeals court on Oct 9 handed a man a 10-year prison term for raping Mrs Gisele Pelicot, increasing his original nine-year sentence.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, was the only one to have maintained his appeal after the first trial in 2024 of 51 men
The former husband of 72-year-old Pelicot has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.
Mrs Gisele Pelicot took the decision to waive her anonymity and allow the public into the courtroom during the months-long trial to raise awareness about sexual violence.
She famously said that it was time for the perpetrators – and not the victims – to be ashamed.
“The court and jury sentence Husamettin Dogan to 10 years in prison” along with “mandatory treatment for five years”, presiding judge Christian Pasta said.
Standing in the dock, Dogan did not react to the verdict.
Mrs Gisele Pelicot left the court silent but smiling, under a hail of applause, with members of the public shouting “bravo” and “thank you”.
Dogan said he never intended to rape her and was “trapped” by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot in 2019 into thinking he would be taking part in a couple’s sexual game.
But Mrs Gisele Pelicot told the court in the southern city of Nimes on Oct 8 that Dogan had raped her and had to “take responsibility” for his actions.
Public prosecutor Dominique Sie had earlier on Oct 9 requested 12 years in jail for Dogan.
“As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing,” Mr Sie told him.
“There needs to be an evolution for you, and for society, from rape culture to a culture of consent.”
One investigator told the court on Oct 7 that images of the abuse found on Dominique Pelicot’s hard drive showed Dogan had stayed at the Pelicot house for at least “three hours and 24 minutes”.
Footage shown to the court featured him penetrating an inert Gisele Pelicot.
At the original trial, a panel of five judges issued the verdicts against Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants in 2024 in the southern city of Avignon.
This time in Nimes, it was a people’s jury of five men and four women who decided.
The other 49 men accused of abusing Mrs Gisele Pelicot received sentences ranging from three years in jail, including two suspended, to 15 years behind bars for a man who visited the Pelicot home six times.
Another man, who did not assault Mrs Gisele Pelicot but repeatedly abused his own wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help, was sentenced to 12 years.
Mrs Gisele Pelicot on Oct 8 called for “victims to never be ashamed of what was forced upon them”. AFP
