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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his jail term raised to ten years.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

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

The evidence showed that Dogan, a married father, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife after he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is individual, not delegated,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Consent is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, a notorious sex offenders in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his then wife and soliciting numerous individuals to rape her in her home in the community of the village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to challenge his conviction. He was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “completely denies to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

Dogan had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that the accused had known his wife had been “incapacitated” and he said to men by phone: “I seek someone to violate my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a key topic for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was not guilty and had not engaged in violation, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been justifiable.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of the victim's unresponsive form, unconscious and breathing heavily in a unconscious condition, while a smiling Dogan performed assault multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I wanted to stop,” the accused stated to the court. “I proceeded because he reassured me.”

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

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When will you acknowledge you violated me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. When did I ever give you consent? At no time.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an global icon after she relinquished her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, possibly motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the publication of your ordeal.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “We need to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie told the defendant: “For as much as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a person, it’s an whole unpleasant societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was abusive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged ten. When he was seventeen he was caught by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the residence. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations outside their union. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had told a mental health expert that once a year he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis triggered by the anxiety of the first trial.