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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The 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 agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.