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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.