8 hours ago Laura GozziIn Paris A court in southern France has increased by a year the jail term of the only man who challenged his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, had argued he was innocent, despite graphic video footage shown in court of him penetrating a motionless Gisèle Pelicot.
The prosecutor told the court Dogan had been “unwilling to take responsibility” for a “massive act of destruction of a woman” that had denied her humanity.
Police were able to track down the men who raped Gisèle because of the videos that Dominique Pelicot filmed during the rapes.
Gisèle Pelicot told the court this week “I am the only victim”, denying she had ever given her consent.
Eight hours ago. .
Gozzi, Laura, in Paris.
For the sole man who contested his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot, a court in southern France has extended his jail sentence by one year.
Dominique, her ex-husband, drugged the 72-year-old retired grandmother unconscious for more than ten years, and dozens of men he found online sexually assaulted her.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, had maintained his innocence in the face of graphic video footage that showed him piercing a still Gisèle Pelicot.
However, the Nîmes Court of Appeals dismissed his argument and increased his initial nine-year prison sentence to ten years. Last December, he was found guilty of aggravated rape in a trial that also found 50 other men guilty.
Dominique Sié, the public prosecutor, had requested that Dogan be given a 12-year sentence. Dogan claimed that Dominique Pelicot had “trapped” him. Dogan was “unwilling to take responsibility” for a “massive act of destruction of a woman” that had deprived her of her humanity, the prosecutor told the court.
Dogan has not been incarcerated since his pre-trial detention, which took place prior to his trial last year.
Dominique Pelicot recorded the rapes, and the footage helped police identify and apprehend the men who raped Gisèle.
Seventeen of the 51 men who were sentenced to jail early withdrew their appeals.
Only one person, Husamettin Dogan, a married father of Turkish descent, chose to file an appeal.
Dogan’s defence, like that of many of the other men found guilty last December, was that he could not have raped Gisèle because he was unaware that she had been drugged by her husband against her will.
Although the proceedings in Nîmes were essentially a retrial, a jury consisting of three professional judges and nine members of the public decided the case, in contrast to the original trial last December.
Videos of the rapes, in which an unconscious Gisèle was heard snoring and showing no reaction despite the abuse she endured, were among the evidence from the first trial that was re-examined.
Dogan acknowledged that she was obviously a victim of her husband, but he once more denied any intention to rape her.
“I never raped anyone, but I did a sexual act,” he claimed. “I am a victim, and for me, rape entails coercing, tying someone up, etc. “..”.
Gisèle Pelicot denied ever giving her consent when she told the court this week, “I am the only victim.”.
Dogan also attempted to place the blame on Dominique Pelicot, claiming that although he had “suspicions” that something was wrong with the situation at one point, Pelicot had reassured him. His words, “This guy is a manipulator,”.
Pelicot, who testified in court, denied ever feigning that his wife would be anything other than unconscious.
According to Pelicot, he had made it clear to Dogan that he was seeking “someone to abuse my sleeping wife without her knowledge” and that all of the men he recruited on chatrooms “were told she would be drugged.”.
Due to her decision to make the initial trial public and media accessible, Gisèle Pelicot’s story garnered international attention; however, she quickly withdrew back to her private life after the verdicts were announced.
She hadn’t been spotted in public since then until this week.
She remembered the inexplicable neurological symptoms and memory loss she had experienced for months when she took the stand on Wednesday, not realizing they were caused by the medications Pelicot had given her.
She emphasized once more that she was unaware of the abuse she endured at the hands of her husband.
“When I watched the videos of [Dogan] raping me, that’s when I first saw his face,” she said. “My memory of them will always be etched. “.”.
The first time, this man refused to acknowledge that he had sexually assaulted me. She added, “But I felt that he had gained some introspection over the course of a year.”.
“You don’t realize that this was rape,” she continued, turning to Dogan. When will you acknowledge that it is illegal? I feel bad for you. “.
She also talked about how her family had been devastated ever since the trial.
After pictures of her unconscious were discovered on Pelicot’s computer, her daughter Caroline Darian claims she was also drugged and mistreated by her father.
Since then, Ms. Darian has talked about feeling like her mother doesn’t support her. According to reports, the two are no longer in communication, and Ms. Darian did not appear in court with Gisèle this week.
“My family is doing everything it can to rebuild itself,” Gisèle stated. “I’m hoping [Caroline] gets the answers she needs. I’m hoping we’ll cross paths again in the future. “..”.
In addition, she requested to no longer be called an icon. Her words, “I am an ordinary woman who dared to open up her trial,”. I didn’t want to become an icon, but I did. “.”.
Like in the first trial, Gisèle concluded her remarks by offering a prayer for other rape victims, most of whom lacked the copious amounts of evidence she did to bring her abusers to justice.
“They should never feel guilty about what happened to us because it was not their fault,” she said.
