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A defendant was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, 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 acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant'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 culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the original case.