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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, 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

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common 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 addressed the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.