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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.