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

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.