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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging 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 period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. 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 brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

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

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the original case.