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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating 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 span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected 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 brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.