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A man was declared guilty on appeal of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an out-of-work construction worker, who had contested his first conviction last year, experienced a appeal hearing this week at the higher court in Nîmes.

A panel of nine jurors, joined by three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of sexually assaulting the victim in her residence in the south of France in the early hours of 29 June 2019.

The evidence showed that the accused, a married father, connected with Gisèle Pelicot’s husband at the time, the husband, in an digital platform called “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was looking for men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

We expect the jury will affirm that in this nation, human rights are also women’s rights – that permission is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Agreement is received personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Context

The ex-husband, a notorious sexual predators in modern French history, was sentenced to twenty years in prison last year for sedating his wife at the time and bringing in multiple perpetrators to sexually assault her in her home in the community of Mazan over a duration of nearly ten years of their union.

Fifty other men were found guilty in a notable trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to contest his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty enhanced on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent the husband graphic images and then traveled an hour from his town in the region to assault the victim, after telling his wife he was going out, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from segregation in prison to briefly provide testimony at the appeal trial, told the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her knowledge.”

The proceedings became a focus point for a wider discussion on rape culture in society as Dogan continued to claim he was innocent and had not perpetrated assault, stating that because the victim's husband had invited him into the room, his actions had been permissible.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was shown visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s limp body, comatose and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a smiling the perpetrator engaged in violation repeatedly over a period of what authorities reported was several hours. The presiding judge said she had been at danger of death by choking. The state prosecution said there was no question that she had been incapacitated and had not consented.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant told the court the footage were simply “intimate moments” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not assault. 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 influenced by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” Dogan stated to the court. “I carried on because he persuaded me.”

Questioned if he wanted to make a last words to the court, the defendant said: “I had no desire to injure that lady.”

Pelicot's Words

The survivor, who was cheered upon departing the trial each day by supporters gathered to stand with her, addressed the defendant in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you raped me? It is illegal to rape an unconscious woman. At what point did I give you consent? Never.”

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

The prosecutor, turning to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take accountability showed that: “The shame remains. The community is perhaps in the midst of that, maybe propelled by the collective awareness resulting from the revelation of your ordeal.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of non-guilt showed how societal tolerance was still widespread in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a ethos of permission.”

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

Personal History

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of 5 came to France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The court heard that his father was abusive and that Dogan began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was stopped by authorities for selling narcotics and his parent forced him to leave the family house. He served time in prison for drug dealing in his early 20s and had worked as a construction worker but had undergone periods of being unhoused.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had informed a evaluator that each year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His legal representatives stated to the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the stress of the first trial.