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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

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 assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding spurred by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the first trial.