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A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his verdict. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 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

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.