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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was violation. 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 house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still common 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 addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by police for dealing drugs and his parent forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.