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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his incarceration period extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.