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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with 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. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing 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 a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.