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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten 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 inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending 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 shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.