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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation 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 invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the stress of the original case.