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A man was declared guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his prison sentence extended to 10 years.

Higher Court Case

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

A panel of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting Pelicot in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an online chatroom called “without her consent”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is individual, not delegated,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

The husband, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to rape her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a duration of many years of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found convicted in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to contest his conviction. He was first given a sentence to nine years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had contended he should serve twelve years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any blame”.

Evidence Presented

Dogan had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region 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 temporarily give evidence at the retrial, told 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 put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as the defendant continued to assert he was blameless and had not engaged in violation, contending that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a period of what police said was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of fatal outcome by suffocation. The state's case said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not consented.

Dogan's Claims

Dogan informed the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He stated the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him to the house, and therefore it was OK. He said he was deceived by Dominique Pelicot. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to injure that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The victim, who was applauded upon departing the trial each day by onlookers gathered to support her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It is illegal to assault an unaware woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take blame showed that: “The shame remains. The public is perhaps in the midst of that, possibly propelled by the public consciousness spurred by the publication of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “outdated” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor said to the defendant: “While you reject it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing social system that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that the defendant began consuming marijuana at the age of 10. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent evicted him of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had faced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The evidence showed his wife did not know he had frequent intimate relations outside their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his challenging existence. Dogan had told a mental health expert that annually he looked for transactional encounters on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the anxiety of the original case.