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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told 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 influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.