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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected 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 invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.