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A man was declared guilty on higher court review of raping Gisèle Pelicot following she was rendered comatose by her then-husband – and has had his incarceration period increased to a decade.

Appeal Trial

Husamettin Dogan, forty-four, an unemployed builder, who had appealed his initial guilty verdict last year, underwent a appeal hearing this week at the Nîmes court of appeal.

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

The testimony revealed that the accused, a family man, made contact with the victim's spouse, Dominique Pelicot, in an online chatroom titled “unbeknownst to her”, where Pelicot was seeking men to come to his home to rape his wife once he had rendered her unconscious into a unconscious state.

We trust the panel will say loud and clear that in this society, human rights are also rights of women – that agreement is personal, not delegated,” declared Gisèle Pelicot’s lawyer, Antoine Camus. “Permission is obtained personally and not via a representative from a spouse.”

Background

The ex-husband, among the most severe sexual predators in modern French history, was handed a sentence to twenty years in prison last year for incapacitating his spouse and soliciting dozens of men to sexually assault her in her home in the Provence village of the village of Mazan over a period of almost a decade of their marriage.

Dozens of additional defendants were found culpable in a widely publicized trial last year, and the appellant was the single defendant to contest his sentence. He was first sentenced to nine years in prison, a penalty increased on Thursday to 10 years.

The lead state prosecutor, Dominique Sie, had stated he should serve twelve years, because he “stubbornly rejects to take any responsibility”.

Testimony and Proof

Dogan had first sent the husband sexually explicit photos and then traveled an hour from his residence in the region to assault Gisèle Pelicot, after notifying his wife he was leaving, the evidence indicated.

Pelicot, who was transported from isolation in prison to briefly give evidence at the appeal trial, stated to the court that Dogan had understood his wife had been “drugged” and he communicated to men by phone: “I’m looking for someone to assault my wife after I’ve put her to sleep without her consent.”

The trial became a central issue for a larger conversation on societal attitudes in society as the defendant continued to say he was blameless and had not committed rape, stating that because Gisèle Pelicot’s husband had welcomed him into the residence, his actions had been permissible.

The jury in the higher court was presented with visual proof of Gisèle Pelicot’s unconscious figure, unconscious and breathing heavily in a deep sleep, while a grinning Dogan engaged in violation on several occasions over a duration of what authorities reported was 3.5 hours. The presiding judge said she had been at risk of fatal outcome by asphyxiation. The state's case said there was absolute certainty that she had been unconscious and had not agreed.

Defendant's Statements

The defendant informed the court the videos were simply “sex scenes” and rejected it was violation. He said what he did was “a consensual activity”, not rape. He told the court: “I did not commit rape.” He said the victim's husband had allowed him to the residence, and therefore it was acceptable. He said he was deceived by the husband. “I attempted to cease,” the accused told the court. “I carried on because he reassured me.”

Asked if he wanted to make a closing remarks to the court, Dogan said: “I did not intend to hurt that woman.”

Survivor's Statement

The survivor, who was supported upon departing the trial each day by supporters assembled to stand with her, said to Dogan in court: “You fail to comprehend. When will you acknowledge you assaulted me? It’s a crime to rape an unaware woman. How could I have 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.”

Prosecutor's Remarks

Sie, speaking to Gisèle Pelicot in court, said the defendant's refusal to take blame showed that: “Shame has not yet changed sides. Society is perhaps in the process of that, maybe propelled by the public consciousness resulting from the publication 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 “gender-based power”. He said: “It is imperative to change the culture of violence to a society based on agreement.”

Sie said to the defendant: “As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an complete unpleasant societal structure that you are upholding.”

Defendant's Background

Dogan was born in the country of Turkey and at the age of five came to the nation of France, where his parent worked as a building manager. The evidence indicated that his father was violent and that the defendant began using drugs at the age of ten. When Dogan was 17 he was apprehended by authorities for dealing drugs and his parent kicked him out of home. He was incarcerated in prison for narcotics offenses in his twenties and had worked as a construction worker but had experienced periods of being unhoused.

He was wed and had a child with Down’s syndrome, who he was the main caregiver for, as his spouse worked in a school canteen. The testimony revealed his wife did not know he had regular extramarital activities outside their union. His legal team said this was his strategy for managing with his stressful life. The defendant had stated to a mental health expert that annually he looked for paid sex on his special day. His attorneys told the court he had arthritis resulting from the stress of the original case.