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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, 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 deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.