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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.