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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 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 the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade 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 verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.