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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men 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.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 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.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the midst of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer 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 school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.