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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended 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 five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.