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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.