A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period extended to ten years.
Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.
A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.
The court heard that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.
“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”
The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.
Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.
The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.
Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.
Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”
The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.
The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.
Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited 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 continued because he convinced me.”
Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”
The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”
The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”
The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”
The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”
Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”
Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.
He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.
A digital strategist with over a decade of experience in data-driven marketing and conversion optimization.
