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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife 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 court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.