🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty 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 jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

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

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.