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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer 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 told a evaluator that each year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.