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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

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

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, 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 came to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.