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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent 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 home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the original case.