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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings 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 engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.