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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked 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 victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

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 court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police 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 construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the original case.