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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

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

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.