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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer 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 institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.