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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and has had his jail term raised to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that annually he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.