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A man was convicted on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

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

A jury of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping the victim in her home in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not transferred,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The 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 drugging his wife at the time and soliciting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found culpable in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was first handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve sedated her without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Dogan's Claims

The defendant informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He stated 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 deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to stand with her, told Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. When did I ever give you permission? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she gave up her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to the victim in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that Dogan began smoking cannabis aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for dealing drugs and his father evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, 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 intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys informed the court he had arthritis resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.