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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 increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence 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 seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion 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 welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told 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 house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.