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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

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

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.