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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt 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.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.