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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – 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 first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common 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.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.