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A man has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term raised to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a new trial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A panel of four women and five men, joined by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a married father, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the panel will declare that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that consent is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a widely publicized trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to challenge his sentence. He was first handed a term to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to 10 years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

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

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve sedated her without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the higher court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator performed assault repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had brought him to the house, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to hurt that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to back her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you raped me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The public is maybe in the course of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the exposure of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 moved to France, where his father worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a institution's dining hall. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had stated to a mental health expert that once a year he looked for transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had a medical condition triggered by the stress of the original case.