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An individual was declared guilty on appeal of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a new trial this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, convicted Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a comatose state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, one of the worst sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and soliciting multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the town of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence raised on Thursday to a decade.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot sexually explicit photos and then driven an hour from his town in Provence to rape the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “drugged” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep unbeknownst to her.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was displayed visual proof of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what investigators stated was several hours. The judge said she had been at peril of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

Dogan told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. 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 influenced by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a last words to the court, Dogan said: “I had no desire to harm that individual.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by supporters present to stand with her, said to the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is illegal to assault an unconscious woman. How could I have give you permission? Not once.”

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

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take responsibility showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the course of that, perhaps motivated by the collective awareness spurred by the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “male domination”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “For as much as you deny it, it’s not just a person, it’s an entire unpleasant social system that you are endorsing.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The court heard that his father was abusive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was caught by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out the family house. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The court heard his spouse did not know he had regular sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a court psychologist that each year he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had a medical condition caused by the pressure of the initial proceedings.