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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was drugged unconscious by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’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 rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the first trial.