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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, 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 Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the first trial.