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An individual has been found guilty on retrial of sexually assaulting Gisele Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her husband – and received his prison sentence increased to 10 years.

Retrial Proceedings

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had challenged his initial guilty verdict last year, faced a appeal hearing this week at the appeals court in Nîmes.

A jury of four women and five men, accompanied by three judges, found Dogan guilty on Thursday of raping the victim in her bedroom in Provence in the early hours of June 29, 2019.

The court heard that Dogan, a family man, reached out to the victim's husband at the time, the husband, in an internet forum called “without her consent”, where the husband was seeking men to come to his home to assault his wife once he had drugged her into a deep sleep.

We expect the court will affirm that in this country, fundamental rights are also rights of women – that consent is individual, not given by another,” stated Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not via a representative from a husband.”

Case History

The husband, a notorious sexual predators in France's contemporary records, was handed a sentence to two decades in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting 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 only man to contest his sentence. He was originally given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a penalty raised on Thursday to ten years.

The chief prosecutor, the prosecutor, had argued he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had first sent Dominique Pelicot graphic images and then driven an hour from his residence in the region to rape the victim, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the court heard.

The ex-husband, who was brought from segregation in prison to briefly testify at the hearing, stated to the court that Dogan had known 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 courtroom became a focus point for a wider discussion on sexual violence norms in society as Dogan continued to assert he was innocent and had not engaged in violation, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the room, his conduct had been permissible.

The panel in the higher court was shown recorded footage of the victim's unconscious figure, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator engaged in violation multiple times over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The judge said she had been at risk of death by choking. The prosecution said there was no question that she had been unaware and had not given permission.

Accused's Testimony

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “intimate moments” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He declared the court: “I never raped.” He said the victim's husband had invited him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I tried to halt,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he persuaded me.”

Inquired if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, the defendant said: “I did not intend to harm that woman.”

Victim's Response

The victim, who was supported upon leaving court each day by supporters assembled to back her, said to Dogan in court: “You do not grasp. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to rape an incapacitated woman. When did I ever give you agreement? Not once.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an international feminist hero after she relinquished her right to anonymity in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

The prosecutor, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said Dogan’s failure to take accountability showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. The community is maybe in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication of your situation.”

Sie said Dogan’s claims of innocence showed how normalized violence was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”. He said: “It is imperative to change rape culture to a ethos of permission.”

Sie addressed the defendant: “As long as you deny it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire disturbing societal structure that you are endorsing.”

Personal History

The accused was born in Turkey and at the age of five came to France, where his father worked as a concierge. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began consuming marijuana aged 10. When he was seventeen he was stopped by authorities for drug trafficking and his father kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for trafficking in his early 20s and had worked as a laborer but had undergone periods of homelessness.

He was wed and had a son with Down’s syndrome, who he was the primary guardian for, as his wife worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had regular extramarital activities beyond their union. His legal team said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. The defendant had told a mental health expert that annually he sought transactional encounters on his birthday. His attorneys informed the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the initial proceedings.