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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators 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.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.