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A man was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds present to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the course of that, perhaps driven by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” 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 reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.