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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.