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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. 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 wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.