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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault 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 Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.