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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework 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 caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.