🔗 Share this article

A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. 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 permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.