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An individual was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his prison sentence raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Consent is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the town of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. 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 acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the first trial.