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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim 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 online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily 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’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the original case.