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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.