🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

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

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.