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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. 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 home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.