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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued 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.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.