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An individual was convicted on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to contest his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was going out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

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

The panel in the higher court was presented with video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, 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 outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the original case.