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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived 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 unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.