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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals 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 home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized 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 sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse 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. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.