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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the original case.