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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.