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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men 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.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.