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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” 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 tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.