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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced 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 accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless 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 panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced 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 spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.