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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the higher 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 Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.