Man who appealed Pelicot rape conviction handed longer jail term

A court in the south of France has increased by one year the prison sentence of the only man who appealed his conviction for the rape of Gisèle Pelicot.

The 72-year-old retired grandmother was drugged unconscious by her husband Dominique for more than a decade and raped by dozens of men she recruited online.

Hüsamettin Doğan, 44, pleaded innocent in court despite sensational video footage showing him entering the motionless Gisèle Pelicot.

But the appeals court in Nîmes rejected his claim and extended his original nine-year prison sentence to 10 years. He was convicted of aggravated rape last December during a trial at which 50 other men were also convicted.

Prosecutor Dominique Sié asked the court to give a 12-year prison sentence to Doğan, who said he was also a victim “trapped” by Dominique Pelicot. The prosecutor told the court that Dogan “did not want to take responsibility” for “an act of mass destruction targeting a woman” that denied her humanity.

Although Doğan was detained before the hearing last year, he has not spent even a period of time in prison since then.

The police managed to catch the men who raped Gisèle, thanks to the videos taken by Dominique Pelicot during the rapes.

Of the 51 people sentenced to prison, 17 initially appealed but their sentences were soon withdrawn.

Hüsamettin Doğan, a married father born in Türkiye, was the only person who decided to take his objection to court.

Like many other men convicted last December, Doğan’s defense was that he could not be guilty of raping Gisèle because he was not aware that Gisèle had been drugged by her husband against her will.

The hearings in Nîmes were essentially a retrial, but unlike the first trial last December, this case was judged by a jury of nine members of the public and three professional judges.

Evidence from the first trial was shown again, including the rape videos, in which an unconscious Gisèle was heard snoring and showing no reaction despite the abuse she was subjected to.

However, Doğan again denied that he intended to rape her, even though the woman openly admitted that she was her husband’s victim.

“I committed a sexual act, I did not rape anyone,” he said. “For me, rape means forcing someone, tying them up, I don’t know… I’m a victim.”

Gisèle Pelicot denied consent, saying in court this week: “I am the only victim.”

Doğan, who wanted to put the blame on Dominique Pelicot, also said that although he had “suspicions” that the situation was not quite right, Pelicot reassured him. “This man is a manipulator,” he said.

Pelicot, who was present as a witness in court, denied that his wife pretended to be unconscious.

Pelicot stated that all the men he recruited in the chat rooms “were told that they were given drugs” and added that he clearly told Doğan that he was looking for “someone to harass my sleeping wife without her knowledge”.

Gisèle Pelicot’s decision to open the first case to the public and media brought worldwide attention to her story; but as soon as the verdicts were announced he returned to private life.

This week he was seen in public for the first time since then.

When he took the stand Wednesday, he recalled the unexplained neurological symptoms and memory loss he had been experiencing for months, but he didn’t realize they were side effects of the medications Pelicot had given him.

She emphasized once again that she had no knowledge of what her husband was subjecting her to.

“I saw it for the first time [Dogan’s] “My face was when I saw the videos of him raping me,” she said. “These are etched in my memory forever.”

“The first time, this man never agreed to admit that he raped me. But within a year, I thought he had gained some introspection,” she said.

Turning to Doğan, he added: “You don’t understand that this is rape. When will you accept that this is a crime? I am ashamed for you.”

He also touched on the devastation that has gripped his family since the hearing.

His daughter, Caroline Darian, claims she was also drugged and abused by her father after photos were found on Pelicot’s computer showing him losing consciousness.

Ms Darian has since spoken of feeling unsupported by her mother. The two are reportedly no longer in contact and Ms. Darian was not in court with Gisèle this week.

“My family is trying to rebuild itself as best they can,” Gisèle said. “I hope [Caroline] finds the answers he is looking for. I hope one day we can find each other again.”

He also asked that he stop being remembered as an icon. “I am an ordinary woman who dared to open her trial,” she said. “I became an icon against my will.”

As in the first trial, Gisèle concluded her testimony by reflecting on other rape victims; the majority of whom did not have sufficient evidence to bring their abusers to court.

“I want to tell them to never be ashamed of what was done to us because it is not their fault,” he said.