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A defendant was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

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

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, 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 intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.