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A defendant has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and received his incarceration period extended to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced 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 sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will declare that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Consent is secured directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

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

The trial became a central issue for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was not guilty and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his behavior had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The court official said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that woman.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is illegal to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is maybe in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete unpleasant social system that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of five moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When Dogan was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his father kicked him out of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His legal representatives informed the court he had a medical condition caused by the anxiety of the original case.