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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

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 spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.