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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade 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 contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.