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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.