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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. 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 invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.