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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sex offenders in modern French history, was given a prison term to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his conviction. He was originally handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily testify at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's failure to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he looked for paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.