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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.