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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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 appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.