🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence 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 span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common 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 told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.