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A man has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, faced a retrial this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of nine jurors, joined by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her home in the south of France in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The testimony revealed that Dogan, a family man, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife once he had sedated her into a unconscious state.

We trust the court will say loud and clear that in this country, human rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not transferred,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is secured directly and not through someone else from a spouse.”

Background

Dominique Pelicot, among the most severe sex offenders in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their marriage.

Fifty other men were found convicted in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was initially given a sentence to nine years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had argued he should serve 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any accountability”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after informing his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, told the court that Dogan had known his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious unbeknownst to her.”

The courtroom became a key topic for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because the victim's husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been justifiable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a comatose state, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a timeframe of what police said was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of death by suffocation. The prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant stated to the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was assault. He said what he did was “an intimate behavior”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” the accused told the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a final statement to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Survivor's Statement

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon exiting the courtroom each day by onlookers present to stand with her, told the defendant in court: “You haven’t understood. When are you going to recognise you raped me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. At what point did I give you agreement? At no time.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she relinquished her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “Shame must change sides.”

State's Argument

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's unwillingness to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is possibly in the midst of that, perhaps motivated by the societal understanding resulting from the exposure of your case.”

The prosecutor said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “While you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from the country of Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The evidence indicated that his father was aggressive and that the defendant began smoking cannabis at the age of ten. When he was seventeen he was apprehended by authorities for drug trafficking and his father forced him to leave the residence. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his twenties and had worked as a laborer but had experienced periods of homelessness.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the main caregiver for, as his wife worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had frequent sexual encounters beyond their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that once a year he engaged in commercial sex on his birthday. His lawyers stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the initial proceedings.