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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.