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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.