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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a broader debate on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the exposure of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he looked for commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.