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NÎMES, France (CN) — “I’m here because I never wanted to rape this woman who I respect,” Husamettin Dogan, one of the 51 men who was filmed raping Gisèle Pelicot, said to a full courtroom on Monday. “I have all the respect for her.”
Dogan stared straight ahead toward the court’s president, Christian Pasta, as he denied being violent toward Pelicot, who was seated roughly 15 feet to his left. Her eyes widened as she inhaled and looked up at the ceiling.
“I never knew she was drugged,” Dogan said.
Ten months ago, he and 50 others were convicted in a monthslong mass rape trial that shed a global spotlight on sexual assault and chemical submission. The rapes were orchestrated by Dominique Pelicot, Gisèle Pelicot’s ex-husband, who rendered her unconscious with sedatives and invited strangers into their bedroom to penetrate her. The abuse lasted for roughly 10 years.
In 2020, when Dominique Pelicot was being investigated for another crime — filming up women’s skirts in a supermarket — police found thousands of photos and videos documenting the rapes of his ex-wife on a USB drive connected to his computer. The footage allowed them to identify 50 perpetrators, while at least 20 are still thought to be at large.
Gisèle Pelicot, who waived her right to anonymity and made the trial public, was lauded for her bravery and impetus to shift the shame from the victim to the perpetrator. From September to December 2024, she appeared in the Avignon Judicial Court almost every day and stoically listened as dozens of men tried to convince the courtroom of their innocence. Video evidence, which was played in the courtroom, was not enough to prompt the vast majority of the men to admit rape.
After 16 others dropped their cases, Dogan will be the only man to appeal the verdict in a trial set to run from Oct. 6–9. It will be judged by an 11-person jury — other lawyers discouraged their clients from proceeding with the appeals since juries often hand down harsher sentences than the originals, according to reports.
On Monday afternoon, Dogan appeared at the appeals court of Nîmes wearing black aviator sunglasses, a surgical mask and a newsboy cap, leaving barely any skin visible on his face. Pasta reiterated that Dogan believes he was “manipulated” by Dominique Pelicot and thought that he was taking part in a “sex game” with a “libertine couple.”
In 2019, Dogan connected with Dominique Pelicot on coco.fr, a site that has since been taken down, on a channel called “without her knowledge.” The group contained photos and videos of barely clothed women who appeared to be sleeping. Dominique Pelicot told Dogan he and his wife were swingers and their kink was that she pretended to sleep.
After having a few whiskies with friends, Dogan got a text from Dominique Pelicot inviting him to come over. He told the courtroom that he showered and cleaned himself up, thinking that he’d be having a threesome, before getting in the car and driving roughly 40 miles to Mazan.
When he entered the bedroom, Gisèle Pelicot was passed out on the bed.
“I saw this woman like this, I started to caress her skin, and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ll stop. She’s dead,” he told the courtroom during his testimony in September 2024.
He said Dominique Pelicot told him that she was alive and jostled her so she moved slightly, to prove the point. Dogan, then convinced that she wasn’t dead, proceeded to rape her for roughly 30 minutes. When she started snoring, he told the courtroom that he felt like something was off and left the property but didn’t feel compelled to call the authorities.
Béatrice Zavarro, Dominique Pelicot’s lawyer, asked if Dogan saw himself as a victim.
“Yes!” he replied, as if someone had finally understood. “I am a victim.”
Outside of the courthouse on Monday, people gathered in support of Gisèle Pelicot, chanting as the sun began to set.
On Tuesday, Dogan will face questioning in the courtroom, and Dominique Pelicot will be transferred from his prison cell to deliver his testimony. Gisèle Pelicot is set to speak as a witness on Wednesday, and the trial will conclude by Thursday.
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