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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise 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 global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.