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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.