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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence 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.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the first trial.