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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.