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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.