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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, 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 repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the original case.