🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her home in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, the husband, in an online chatroom named “without her consent”, where the husband was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will declare that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of many years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

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

The courtroom became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what investigators stated was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take responsibility showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. Society is possibly in the midst of that, maybe driven by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor addressed Dogan: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an complete sordid societal structure that you are upholding.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by police for selling narcotics and his father evicted him the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular sexual encounters outside their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation caused by the pressure of the original case.