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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that the accused had been aware 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 knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.