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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. 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 influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time 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 Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.