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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told 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 originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone 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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.