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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, 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 assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.