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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, underwent a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to rape 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 convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor said to Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated sexual encounters outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives informed the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.