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A man has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, 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 intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.