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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.