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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon 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 refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.