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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said 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 unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I 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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.