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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.