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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife 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 high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.