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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing 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 a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.