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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was sedated by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. Society is maybe in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.