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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected 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 the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.