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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and received his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in 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 ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.