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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and received his jail term raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said 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 larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the original case.