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A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.