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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

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

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came 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 using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.