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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for 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 country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his conviction. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “For as much as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time 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 primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.