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A man was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his first conviction last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of five men and four women, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her home in southern France in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, reached out to the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an digital platform titled “without her consent”, where Pelicot was looking for men to enter his residence to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will say loud and clear that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared the victim's lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced 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 community of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the only man to appeal against his conviction. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to ten years.

The state's attorney, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “completely denies to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the retrial, informed the court that the accused had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The courtroom became a central issue for a broader debate on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to claim he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unresponsive form, sedated and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not agreed.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He stated the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon leaving court each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

State's Argument

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the process of that, possibly driven by the collective awareness brought by the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “We need to change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

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

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out the residence. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a institution's dining hall. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a evaluator that annually he engaged in transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the first trial.