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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his prison sentence raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We trust the panel will affirm that in this society, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a spouse.”

Context

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to two decades in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to contest his verdict. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment 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 blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had first sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him into the room, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling Dogan committed rape multiple times over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The court official said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was violation. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused stated to the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters gathered to back her, told the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

Legal Commentary

Sie, addressing the victim in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your case.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete sordid social system that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was violent and that the defendant began consuming marijuana aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had told a court psychologist that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis resulting from the pressure of the original case.