🔗 Share this article

A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the retrial, informed the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the pressure of the first trial.