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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours 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 digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder 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 wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.