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An individual has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. Society is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

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 upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the first trial.