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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.