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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan performed assault on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the first trial.