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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses 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 child with Down’s syndrome, 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 repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.