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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term increased 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, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced 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 last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

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 evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.