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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the first trial.