🔗 Share this article

An individual has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed 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 Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the first trial.