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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators 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 only man to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared 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 reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.