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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless 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 shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.