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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon 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 blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.