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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.