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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the jury will affirm that in this nation, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and bringing in multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable 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 increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the retrial, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been justifiable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters present to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an international feminist hero after she waived her right to privacy 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 blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

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 rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, 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 frequent intimate relations outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.