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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to ten 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 five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

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

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.