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An individual was convicted on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term increased to ten years.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of five men and four women, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her bedroom in southern France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The evidence showed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an internet forum named “without her consent”, where the husband was looking for men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

“We hope the jury will say loud and clear that in this nation, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not given by another,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for drugging his wife at the time and inviting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and the appellant was the only man to appeal against his sentence. He was initially sentenced to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent the husband graphic images and then driven an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after informing his wife he was stepping out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, contending that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the residence, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown video evidence of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator committed rape repeatedly over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by suffocation. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan informed the court the recordings were simply “intimate moments” and rejected it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the home, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan 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 never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, addressed Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you permission? Never.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, maybe propelled by the societal understanding spurred by the exposure of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of innocence showed how societal tolerance was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

Sie addressed Dogan: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused 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 building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began using drugs aged 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for drug trafficking and his parent evicted him the residence. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that once a year he engaged in paid sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the anxiety of the first trial.