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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed 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 sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.