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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.