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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.