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An individual was convicted on higher court review of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence increased to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a retrial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum titled “unbeknownst to her”, where the husband was looking for men to enter his residence to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a period of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in the region to assault the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a central issue for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan committed rape on several occasions over a duration of what police said was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the recordings were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the course of that, maybe motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. 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 married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.