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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence raised to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his first conviction last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years 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 town of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to harm that individual.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness brought by the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had informed a court psychologist that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the original case.