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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received personally and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting multiple perpetrators to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’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 told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds assembled to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He was incarcerated in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that each year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.