🔗 Share this article

A man was declared guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her spouse – and was given his incarceration period raised to a decade.

Retrial Proceedings

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

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her residence in Provence in the morning of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to visit his house to rape his wife once he had sedated her into a comatose state.

“We hope the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is individual, not transferred,” declared the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Case History

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sexual predators in recent French history, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for sedating his spouse and bringing in numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Numerous other individuals were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and the appellant was the sole individual to challenge his sentence. He was initially handed a term to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to a decade.

The state's attorney, Dominique Sie, had contended he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.

Evidence Presented

The defendant had initially sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was brought from isolation in prison to temporarily testify at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had been aware his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I want someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to assert he was blameless and had not perpetrated assault, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and snoring in a comatose state, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was three and a half hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of death by asphyxiation. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been incapacitated and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “sex scenes” and denied it was rape. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not assault. He declared the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the home, and therefore it was OK. He said he was influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan told the court. “I carried on because he convinced me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, Dogan said: “I never wanted to harm that lady.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by crowds present to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. How could I have give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps propelled by the societal understanding resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “patriarchal control”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”

The prosecutor 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.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his parent was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs aged ten. When he was 17 he was apprehended by police for selling narcotics and his parent kicked him out of home. He spent time in prison for trafficking in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The court heard his spouse did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his way of coping with his challenging existence. The defendant had stated to a evaluator that each year he engaged in commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the initial proceedings.