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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.