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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.