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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators 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 sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a court psychologist that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.