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An individual was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A panel of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her bedroom in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform named “without her knowledge”, where the husband was recruiting men to come to his home to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We trust the court will declare that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Permission is received personally and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any accountability”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to temporarily provide testimony at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a wider discussion on societal attitudes in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had invited him into the residence, his conduct had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, sedated and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos 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 did not commit rape.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Never.”

The victim, 72, became an global icon after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is perhaps in the course of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole sordid social system that you are upholding.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a builder but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His legal representatives told the court he had a medical condition triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.