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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced 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 Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.