🔗 Share this article

An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating 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 duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? 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: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.