🔗 Share this article

A defendant was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was sedated by her husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds present to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that annually he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.