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An individual has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and has had his jail term increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in the south of France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a family man, reached out to Gisèle Pelicot’s spouse, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her knowledge”, where the husband was seeking men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We expect the panel will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is secured directly and not by proxy from a husband.”

Background

The husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his spouse and bringing in dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his sentence. He was first sentenced to 9 years in prison, a punishment increased on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had initially sent the husband inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the court heard.

Pelicot, who was brought from solitary confinement in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “sedated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not committed rape, arguing that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his conduct had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “sexual encounters” and rejected it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I tried to halt,” the accused informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to injure that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The victim, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

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

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The public is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your situation.”

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

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of 5 came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the family house. He spent time in prison for drug dealing in his young adulthood and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the principal carer for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that once a year he sought transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the initial proceedings.