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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.