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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed 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 sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.