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A man was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village 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 testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, told Dogan 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 consent? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.