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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence 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 appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not transferred,” said the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is obtained directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was originally sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

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

Courtroom Details

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a key topic for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds assembled to support her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The community is maybe in the course of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete disturbing social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of 10. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his father forced him to leave the family house. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The court heard his spouse did not know he had repeated sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had a medical condition caused by the stress of the initial proceedings.