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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.