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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.