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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.