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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed 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 violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis caused by the stress of the first trial.