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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.