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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.