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A defendant was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

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

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will affirm that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your case.”

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

Sie addressed the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.