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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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 four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “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 unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded 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 woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.