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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced 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 raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated 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 influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.