🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent 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 married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the original case.