🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

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

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.