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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence 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 abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan 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 acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.