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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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 Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.