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A man was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.