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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours 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 titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting 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 nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced 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 responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.