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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

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

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.