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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.