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A defendant was convicted on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term increased to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Case History

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had known 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 consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

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

Pelicot's Words

Gisèle Pelicot, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by crowds gathered to back her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe motivated by the societal understanding brought by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

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 court heard that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had informed a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had a medical condition resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.