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An individual was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.