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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

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 grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued 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

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

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.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the first trial.