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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of four women and five men, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning 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 named “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his verdict. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a focus point for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan committed rape multiple times over a timeframe of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at danger of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was absolute certainty that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When are you going to recognise you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? At no time.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, possibly propelled by the collective awareness spurred by the exposure of your situation.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence 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 disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had arthritis caused by the anxiety of the first trial.