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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.