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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say 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 jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.