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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed 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 home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.