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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected 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 Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding spurred by the revelation of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed 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 challenging existence. Dogan had stated to a evaluator that once a year he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.