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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his jail term raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

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

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to support her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.