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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape 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 consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration 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 question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.