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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued 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 Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.