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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced 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 responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.