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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

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 told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.