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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

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

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant 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 the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the original case.