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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting 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.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.