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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings 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, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread 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 reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.