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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The 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 then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.