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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.