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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.