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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.