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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.