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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 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

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence 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 complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated 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 son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.