🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated 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 main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.