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An individual was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial 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 the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver 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 defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.