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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.