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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

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

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum titled “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the hearing, told the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a duration of what police said was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

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

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the process of that, possibly motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.