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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence 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 birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.