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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten 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 appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the original case.