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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.