🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married 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 evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.