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A defendant has been found guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in southern France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” said the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I want someone to assault my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the bedroom, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with video evidence of the victim's unresponsive form, sedated and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by choking. The prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by onlookers present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is illegal to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she gave up her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the course of that, maybe driven by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a building manager. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had told a court psychologist that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His lawyers informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the first trial.