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An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.