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A defendant was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his prison sentence extended to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of nine jurors, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her residence in southern France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the jury will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” declared the victim's attorney, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally given a sentence to nine years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a timeframe of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon leaving court each day by supporters present to back her, told the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you raped me? It is unlawful to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take responsibility showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, perhaps propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie told Dogan: “As long as you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The court heard that his parent was violent and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was seventeen he was caught by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters outside their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the initial proceedings.