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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term 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 community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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 graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told 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 had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.