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A defendant has been found guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his jail term extended to ten years.

Appeal Trial

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

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a married father, connected with the victim's then husband, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom called “without her knowledge”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to visit his house to assault his wife after he had drugged her into a comatose state.

“We hope the court will say loud and clear that in this country, fundamental rights are also women’s rights – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” stated the victim's attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received personally and not by proxy from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to 20 years in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of Mazan over a span of nearly ten years of their union.

Dozens of additional defendants were found convicted in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to appeal against his conviction. He was originally handed a term to nine years in prison, a punishment raised on Thursday to 10 years.

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

Evidence Presented

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot inappropriate pictures and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to rape Gisèle Pelicot, after telling his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

The ex-husband, who was transported from solitary confinement in prison to briefly give evidence at the hearing, informed the court that the accused had understood his wife had been “incapacitated” and he told to men by phone: “I seek someone to abuse my wife after I’ve rendered her unconscious without her consent.”

The trial became a focus point for a larger conversation on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the bedroom, his actions had been acceptable.

The jury in the Nîmes appeals court was displayed video evidence of the victim's limp body, unconscious and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault multiple times over a period of what investigators stated was three and a half hours. The court official said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state prosecution said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and disputed it was rape. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not assault. He told the court: “I am innocent of assault.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had brought him to the residence, and therefore it was OK. He said he was manipulated by Dominique Pelicot. “I tried to halt,” Dogan stated to the court. “I continued because he convinced me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I never wanted to hurt that individual.”

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was supported upon leaving court each day by crowds gathered to support her, addressed the defendant in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you assaulted me? It is unlawful to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you consent? Not once.”

The victim, seventy-two, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to privacy in the trial last year when she said: “Guilt ought to transfer.”

State's Argument

Sie, addressing Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The public is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness spurred by the revelation of your situation.”

The prosecutor said Dogan’s claims of non-guilt showed how normalized violence was still common in society as part of “old-fashioned” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “Now we must change rape culture to a society based on agreement.”

The prosecutor told Dogan: “While you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an whole disturbing cultural framework that you are endorsing.”

Biographical Details

Dogan was originated from Turkey and at the age of five relocated to France, where his parent worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was violent and that Dogan began consuming marijuana at the age of ten. When he was 17 he was stopped by police for drug trafficking and his parent kicked him out the family house. He served time in prison for narcotics offenses in his young adulthood and had worked as a builder but had experienced periods of living on the streets.

He was married and had a child with special needs, who he was the principal carer for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The evidence showed his spouse did not know he had repeated extramarital activities outside their marriage. His defence said this was his strategy for managing with his difficult circumstances. Dogan had informed a mental health expert that each year he looked for commercial sex on his special day. His lawyers told the court he had joint inflammation resulting from the pressure of the first trial.