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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an online chatroom named “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the bedroom, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the first trial.