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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first 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 “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. 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 wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.