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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.