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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy 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 unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.