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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile 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 increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding 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.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the midst of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.