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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

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 declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.