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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.