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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood 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 school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.