🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, 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 extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the original case.