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A man was convicted on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the original case.