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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years 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 challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity 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: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking 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 primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.