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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

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 the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.