🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.