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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and received his jail term extended to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We expect the jury will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's lawyer, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to 20 years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to challenge his conviction. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any accountability”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, told the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his actions had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unconscious and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she gave up her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the societal understanding brought by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an complete unpleasant cultural framework that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five relocated to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations beyond their union. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought paid sex on his birthday. His legal representatives stated to the court he had arthritis triggered by the pressure of the initial proceedings.