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

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

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

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.