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A defendant was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.