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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating 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 period of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was going out, the court heard.

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

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.