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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault 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 choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.