‘The only victim in this room is me’: Gisèle Pelicot confronts rapist in court

NÎMES, France (CN) — “You haven’t understood. … When are you going to recognize that you raped me?” Gisèle Pelicot said on Wednesday, speaking at the appeal for Husamettin Dogan, one of the 51 men convicted of sexually assaulting her. “It’s a crime to rape an unconscious woman. … When did I ever give you consent? Never!”

In a packed courtroom in Nîmes on Wednesday morning, the room fell silent as 14 videos were played on multiple screens, one after the other. They showed Dogan sexually assaulting an unconscious Gisèle Pelicot — touching her, penetrating her genitals and putting his penis into her mouth as she snored.

This was not enough to get Dogan to admit to raping Pelicot.

“As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t commit rape,” he said in testimony that followed immediately after the videos were shown. “I had a sexual act; I’ve never raped anyone.”

In 2020, investigators informed Pelicot that for roughly 10 years, Dominique Pelicot, her partner of 50 years, had been drugging her and inviting strangers into their bedroom to assault her. He filmed the assaults, which led investigators to identify and convict 51 men, including Dogan, in December 2024. At least 20 more men are believed to still be at large.

Dogan was the only one who ultimately went forward with an appeal, scheduled from Monday through Thursday, after 16 others dropped their cases. It’s a gamble; Dogan currently faces a nine-year sentence that could be upped to 20 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, both Dogan and Pelicot delivered testimony.

Dominique Pelicot contacted Dogan on coco.fr, a website that has since been taken down, on a channel called “without her knowledge,” which contained lewd photos of women seemingly unaware that any photos were being taken. In his testimony on Tuesday, Dominique Pelicot said that should provide some indication of Dogan’s motives.

When Dogan arrived in the Pelicot’s bedroom in 2019, he told the court that he thought Gisèle Pelicot was dead and eventually fled the scene when he felt like something was wrong. This was after he stayed and assaulted her for at least two hours. That night didn’t make a lasting mark; when he was taken into custody, he was “lost” and didn’t know why he was there. He told the court on Wednesday, “It was two years ago [at the time]. I had moved on to other things.”

“You say you left quickly,” Gisèle Pelicot said on Wednesday, raising her voice. Dogan was sitting a few feet in front of her, facing the jury, and did not turn around to look her in the eyes. “Well, I would have left quickly before raping. … I’m ashamed for you.”

Dogan said on Wednesday that although he never spoke to Gisèle Pelicot, when he talked to Dominique Pelicot on the phone in 2019, he heard a woman’s voice in the background. Even though he didn’t know who the woman on the other line was, he thought this meant Gisèle Pelicot would be OK with the plan. He remained almost shockingly nonchalant throughout the appeal and often referenced her ex-husband being present as a sign of her consent.

During the trial last year, Dogan maintained that he was a victim in the story, tricked by Dominique Pelicot into thinking he was participating in a sex game. His tone was incredulous as he said even “animals” wouldn’t do what her ex-husband did, even though he was filmed alongside him.

Ten months later, his stance hasn’t changed.

“I am a victim,” Dogan said without hesitation when asked directly by Stéphane Babonneau, one of Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyers. When questioned by the jury, he said Gisèle Pelicot is 100% a victim, but of her ex-husband, not him.

When asked by Attorney General Dominique Sié if he felt like he disrespected a woman during the video sequences, Dogan’s reply was simple: “No.”

When Gisèle Pelicot took the stand, she spoke directly to Dogan and expressed shock that he couldn’t admit to raping her after having months to reflect on it following the verdict.

“These were not sex scenes — they were rape scenes,” she said in a raised voice. “You call yourself a victim — a victim of what? The only victim in this room is me. … You are not a victim of Mr. Pelicot; take responsibility for your actions and stop hiding behind your cowardice."

In his almost hourlong closing statement, Pelicot’s lawyer Antoine Camus called out Dogan’s insistence on an appeal and his contradictory responses in testimony.

“Yes, but,” Camus said, gesticulating in the courtroom. Camus revisited multiple questions that arose throughout testimony — did you know that Gisèle Pelicot was unconscious, that she didn’t consent, did you recognize that she was snoring — and said Dogan constantly replied with “Yes, but” before skirting blame.

Gisèle Pelicot has become an international hero over the course of the past year. By choosing to waive her right to anonymity and make the trial public, she exposed the toll that trials take on sexual assault victims, which is often a reason they don’t come forward. Her case shed a global spotlight on consent, assault and her impetus for shifting blame from the victim to the perpetrator.

“I feel like I’ve reached the end of this ordeal that lasted five years,” Pelicot said on Wednesday. “I hope I never return to a courtroom in my life. … The damage is done. I’m going to have to rebuild myself from this ruin. … I’m on the right track.”

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