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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators 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 widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.