🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

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

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge 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.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.