🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, 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 court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, 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 reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.