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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to 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 rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.