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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s then husband, the husband, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” said Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his behavior had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to 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 woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the process of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

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

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole sordid societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a building manager. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.