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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the original case.