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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.