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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt 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 society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.