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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

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 been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.