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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.