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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding 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 consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected 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 allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the original case.