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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

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

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.