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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.