French court ups jail term for man in Pelicot rape case appeal

Gisele Pelicot waived her anonymity to raise awareness about sexual violence and urged victims not to feel ashamed. Photo / Christophe Simon, AFP

A French appeals court has handed a man a 10-year prison term for raping Gisele Pelicot, increasing his original nine-year sentence.

Husamettin Dogan, 44, was the only one to have maintained his appeal after the first trial last year of 51 men, including Pelicot’s husband Dominique Pelicot, in the case of mass sexual abuse.

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.

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” with “mandatory treatment for five years”, presiding Judge Christian Pasta said.

Standing in the dock, Dogan did not react to the verdict.

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 Gisele Pelicot told the court in the southern city of Nimes on Wednesday that Dogan had raped her and had to “take responsibility” for his actions.

Public prosecutor Dominique Sie had earlier on Thursday 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,” 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 Tuesday 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”.

At the original trial, a panel of five judges issued the verdicts against Dominique Pelicot and his 50 co-defendants last year 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 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 Gisele Pelicot but repeatedly abused his own wife with Dominique Pelicot’s help, was sentenced to 12 years.

Gisele Pelicot on Wednesday called for “victims to never be ashamed of what was forced upon them”.

-Agence France-Presse