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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly testify at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's limp body, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Personal History

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had frequent extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that each year he sought commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had joint inflammation caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.