🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the original case.