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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, 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 five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.