🔗 Share this article

A man has been found guilty on higher court review of sexually assaulting Gisèle Pelicot after she was rendered comatose by her husband – and was given his prison sentence increased to a decade.

Higher Court Case

Husamettin Dogan, 44, an unemployed builder, who had contested his initial guilty verdict last year, experienced a retrial this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

A jury of nine jurors, sitting with three judges, ruled against Dogan on Thursday of raping Pelicot in her bedroom in Provence in the morning of 29 June 2019.

The court heard that the accused, a family man, connected with the victim's then husband, the husband, in an internet forum named “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was recruiting men to enter his residence to assault his wife after he had rendered her unconscious into a deep sleep.

“We hope the panel will declare that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that permission is individual, not given by another,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s attorney, her legal representative. “Agreement is received directly and not through someone else from a husband.”

Context

The ex-husband, one of the worst sexual predators in modern French history, was given a prison term to two decades in prison last year for drugging his then wife and inviting numerous individuals to sexually assault her in her home in the town of the village of Mazan over a span of almost a decade of their union.

Numerous other individuals were found culpable in a high-profile trial last year, and Dogan was the sole individual to appeal against his verdict. He was first given a sentence to 9 years in prison, a sentence increased on Thursday to a decade.

The chief prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve 12 years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any blame”.

Courtroom Details

The defendant had initially sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his village in Provence to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was stepping out, the testimony revealed.

The ex-husband, who was transported from segregation in prison to temporarily give evidence at the appeal trial, informed the court that the accused had been aware his wife had been “sedated” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to violate my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her knowledge.”

The trial became a focus point for a broader debate on sexual violence norms in society as the defendant continued to assert he was innocent and had not committed rape, arguing that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had allowed him into the residence, his behavior had been acceptable.

The panel in the Nîmes appeals court was presented with recorded footage of the victim's limp body, comatose and snoring in a deep sleep, while a grinning the perpetrator performed assault on several occasions over a period of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at peril of fatal outcome by choking. The state's case said there was no doubt that she had been unconscious and had not consented.

Accused's Testimony

Dogan told the court the videos were simply “sexual encounters” and denied it was assault. He said what he did was “a sexual act”, not rape. He told the court: “I never raped.” He said Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had invited him to the house, and therefore it was permissible. He said he was manipulated by the husband. “I wanted to stop,” Dogan informed the court. “I proceeded because he convinced me.”

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

Victim's Response

Gisèle Pelicot, who was applauded upon leaving court each day by onlookers present to support her, told Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you admit you violated me? It’s a crime to assault an unaware woman. How could I have give you agreement? Never.”

Gisèle Pelicot, 72, became an symbol of resistance after she waived her right to confidentiality in the trial last year when she said: “The shame should shift.”

Legal Commentary

Sie, speaking to the victim in court, said the defendant's failure to take accountability showed that: “Guilt has not shifted. The community is perhaps in the course of that, perhaps driven by the public consciousness resulting from the revelation of your case.”

Sie said the defendant's claims of blamelessness showed how rape culture was still prevalent in society as part of “archaic” forms of “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a culture of consent.”

Sie told the defendant: “While you deny it, it’s not just a individual, it’s an whole disturbing societal structure that you are supporting.”

Defendant's Background

The accused was originated from Turkey and at the age of five moved to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a caretaker. The testimony revealed that his parent was aggressive and that Dogan began using drugs aged 10. When he was 17 he was caught by police for dealing drugs and his father forced him to leave of home. He served time in prison for trafficking in his young adulthood and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a son with a genetic condition, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a educational cafeteria. The testimony revealed his spouse did not know he had repeated intimate relations beyond their marriage. His defence said this was his method of dealing with his stressful life. Dogan had told a mental health expert that once a year he sought commercial sex on his special day. His attorneys stated to the court he had joint inflammation triggered by the stress of the original case.