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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

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

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.