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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.