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A defendant was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period increased to 10 years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in the south of France in the early hours 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 called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for incapacitating his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek 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 say he was not guilty and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown visual proof of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I continued because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by crowds assembled to back her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It is unlawful to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s failure to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is perhaps in the process of that, possibly driven by the public consciousness brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete sordid cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

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 testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.