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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued 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 lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

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

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.