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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” 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 proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.