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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.