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A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his jail term extended to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.