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A man was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to a decade.

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 jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will affirm that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is maybe in the course of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that annually he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.