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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.