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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

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 informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.