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A man was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours 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 online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a duration of what police said was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was cheered upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

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

Defendant's Background

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 evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.