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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.