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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the first trial.