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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent 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 bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst 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 soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to harm that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.