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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.