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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian 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 marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.