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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The court heard that the accused, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

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 acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is maybe in the process of that, maybe motivated by the public consciousness brought by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition resulting from the pressure of the first trial.